AN: I don't say this often, but NOTHING HAPPENS THIS CHAPTER.
YOU CAN SKIP IT.
It's only fitting Chapter 222 is called Double Down. Only thing to make this better would be if I published it on a Tuesday.
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd make this a story a video game.
Chapter 222
Double Down
[Cobb]
The temperature chilled and warmed to signify the passage of time from night to day. The tower holding cell I was kept in got pretty chilly with the ocean breeze hitting it, even while I was wearing my hoodie. I couldn't hug myself and bundle for warmth (for obvious reasons), but the leather tunic provided a modicum of protection from the elements. I got a little sleep in between fits of poison, wither, and starvation, but I still felt miserable with my face smushed into the stone brick floor and with no way to scratch my itchy nose.
I heard a lot of fireworks and explosions throughout the night. The battle between Nitebane's forces and the Griefers was on. I found myself conflicted on who to root for. On one hand, Griefers and Hackers were jerks, and them laying waste to Nitebane would be a blow to the kingdoms. On the other hand, Carys was a bitch, and losing Nitebane would irritate her. Tough call.
Jokes aside, it was better for Nitebane to win given my debilitated state. If the Griefers overran the place and found me, they would be less kind than my jailer Jillian, if that even meant anything. At least if Nitebane won I'd stay breathing. In a state of prolonged agony but breathing.
Not Dead Yet. I reminded myself of the late king's motto. This isn't permanent. Nothing's over so long as I'm Not Dead Yet.
The wooden doors creaked open, and I heard my two guards straighten up. "Your Highness." One greeted. "How goes the battle?"
"Both of you out. Now." She ignored the question with a no-nonsense tone that had the guards complying in seconds. Once again, it was just Jillian and me.
I didn't like being alone with her solely for the fact her words could hurt me more than anything else. She never raised a hand against me, but her words sapped my spirit and made the whole experience more miserable. Not wanting to let her dictate the pace, I spoke first. I used a topic concerning our Beginner-Paragon 'alliance' that I wanted to get off my chest and affirm to 'her highness'.
"You lied about Baltic." I didn't accuse, but I said it as if it was a statement of fact. "He's not okay with me being in here. Carys had to order him to drop it, but he can't. That's not the guy I walked with."
Jillian said nothing, neither confirming nor denying anything. She was quiet and my blindness made me unable to gauge her reaction.
"You lied." I repeated it like it gave me power. "Like you said in your lessons, every lie needs a kernel of truth at the center. I don't doubt Carys is bitch enough to be fine with how I ended up, but Baltic is a fair man."
"A fair man." Jillian spoke softly - so softly I almost missed it. I braced myself for whatever defense she had, whatever words she had honed for this particular talk
I heard her flick a lever, heard the iron door to my cell creak open, heard her walk in with slow, calm strides, right up to me. I felt a shoe slip under my torso and nudge my body, rolling me over from my front onto my back. Facing the ceiling, I felt Carys' intelligence expert loom over me.
"Baltic is a fair man." She agreed. "And petty? What is pettiness? Unsavory things being done to unsavory sorts? You don't deserve this? Is that what you think? What right do you have to judge pettiness? You, an agent of chaos. An instrument of spiteful and small-minded plans."
"What are you talking about? Name one petty thing I did!"
"You told the Hack Clan that Carys killed their brothers."
There it was. The ace she had prepared to unleash on me, and like an idiot I set her up for it perfectly. I found myself stunned for a second by the candid truth. How did she find out? I thought, my mind a storm of thought. Did Lenz tell her? Did Floyd, Soul, or Noman...?
"H-How did you know?"
"BECAUSE YOU JUST FUCKING TOLD ME!" Her hand squeezed my cheeks like a vice and lifted so that I was sitting up and my face was smushed together. "Your stunned face tells me infinitely more than anything ever could! That's another lesson for you about lying: Keep a straight face! You can act as sure of yourself as you want, but when you blunder intel, it just cements how much of a liability I had you pegged for!"
She was enraged, her shouts sending spittle into my smushed face as she continued. Once again, I felt stupid, this time for falling into her trap. She rolled me on my back just to gauge my reaction to the ace she had up her sleeve. She was right. I revealed everything and was now in for a real verbal lashing.
"But let's exhaust the more pressing topic, shall we?" I tensed at her harsh words. "You sold Carys out to the Hackers! They're out there right now demanding we turn over their brethren's killer! Maybe I should just throw you at them since you have just as much blood on your hands!"
"You named Carys to them! You named her! You told them her involvement, just like you leaked it to the Endward Cult! So far, the only intelligence leak I can find is on your end!" She threw my face aside and I fell back to the cold floor, limp as a fish and on my back. "You talk a big game about pettiness and being the bigger man, but if my math is right, you had to have told them way before Carys decided to lock you up."
"I... this was before the alliance." I tried to defend myself, but Jillian was having none of it.
"And you thought it not important to share this fact?" She posed. "It just slipped your mind to tell us that Carys was just as much a target to the Hackers as she was with the Endward Cult? You thought it trivial that bands of Hackers would hunt for her, possibly kill her, and absolve you of her long-awaited vengeance?"
My mouth worked fruitlessly as no words came to mind. I felt like I was nailed to the wall by the woman.
"You wanted the Hackers to take care of her for you." Jillian spat. "Enough to tattle on her like a child. You think Carys couldn't have leaked your name and face as Alec's killer? With our list of agents, it would have been easy. She didn't, though. She wanted to settle things with you face to face. No interlopers."
"Is that why I'm stuck in here on her orders!?" I screamed back, flailing for a way to deflect blame. "This is face to face!?"
"You'll get your milk when she's ready to resolve this face to face. You'll have your fight. You won't be shot like a dog, even if I feel that's what you're owed after all the trouble you caused us." She clicked her tongue. "This alliance was supposed to have you pay your debts, but you just keep steeping yourself deeper."
"I had to worry about my own World!" I defended somewhat pleadingly. "Carys promised to kill my friends while I watched! I didn't know what to do to beat her! The Hack Clan seemed the best out! I had to take care of my people!"
"Well good job." She gave a condescending clap. "All your people are safe and away from this. Meanwhile, this kingdom brought back from the brink of ruin might fall back in because of your cowardice to face Carys with your own strength."
"That isn't... it's not my fault..."
"Carys is a target for the Hack Clan." Jillian counted the facts, each one feeling like a blade piercing my chest. "They know her name. Only her Head will appease them. They were sent here because of who you told them was responsible. I have Nitebane citizens questioning why Carys is considered Ocan and Urson's killer and not me. I'm in danger of being found out as a figurehead. This whole kingdom and everyone in it will be destroyed if we lose this war you caused." I heard her scoff in disdain. "And still you have the nerve to deny accountability? You have the nerve to say Carys is petty? You have the nerve to argue you don't belong in this cell, WHERE YOU CAN'T BLAB TO ANYONE ELSE ABOUT WHO WE ARE!?"
I stared into empty blackness as Jillian's words cut me deep and made me realize the gravity of the situation. I tried to tell myself they were all lies she was making to beat me down, yet I couldn't refute a word of it.
I never once considered the Nitebane survivors, recovering from living in a Griefer-controlled ruin for centuries before Carys showed up. Her actions gave them a glimmer of sunlight in the cold darkness they had to endure. But because of my actions, because I told the Hackers who to kill, they were all at risk of being snuffed out. I never thought about them. I was so overcome with worry towards my World that I disregarded everyone else's.
"No. You deserve to be in there." Jillian finally said, having watched and waited for my response. She based her words off my poleaxed reaction. "You deserve to be in there, writhing in pain as you are, because you're accountable for all this. Paragons exact justice. That's what this is." I felt her stoop down next to me. "I want to kill you so bad right now for this mess." She hissed. "But Carys ordered you kept alive, so that's what I'm doing. And, in the long run, I like this better. You in here, starving and feeling like shit. Doesn't mean I can't blow off some steam by making you feel more like shit. If you even care." She stood back up and her footsteps moved back to the cell door. "I'll keep you breathing so you can just stew on things. Even if this whole place falls, I'll keep you breathing, but I'm going to do my damnedest to make sure it doesn't come to that. Now go back to your suffering." The cell door slammed shut with a note of finality and her footsteps died away. The guards she had go came back and took up their positions.
I was left staring hollowly into the darkness, my gaze unfocused as Jillian's words hurt my soul. Every time with that woman. Every time she left me feeling worse.
I hated this torture. I hated feeling accountable. I recalled my words to Baltic.
'I get to make the choice, and I choose to go for it. And if there are consequences, I'll face them. I'll follow through with wherever this decision takes me.'
I didn't realize the severity of all I had to own up to.
[Nitebane: Warfront]
"Can't believe we have to sit through another day of this." Rrhys complained as he watched the Griefers continue to crash into Nitebane's defenses. They were certainly wearing them out. It was like watching a million ants swarming a beetle. Nitebane had the defenses and the better-quality fighters, but the Griefers had quantity in spades. They just kept throwing bodies at them until they exhausted their defense.
Rrhys and Llewellyn were hanging back in a crowd of Griefers to allow the sacrificial pawns to trigger any nasty traps meant for them. When one Griefer respectfully requested the Hackers provide aid to avoid further casualties, Llewellyn drove a smoke enhanced fist through his torso and proceeded to rip his Head off for daring to give him orders. Nobody asked again.
"When is Carys going to show her face? Show us how strong she is?" Rrhys taunted. "She's a slayer of us. She should be thrilled to join us out here. Instead, she's hiding like a coward."
"Perhaps her bravado has evaporated, and she recognizes what she did as a happy accident."
"It's laughable she thought she could challenge us."
"Facing us comes with a pressure of its own. Only one man ever stood before Hackers without fear."
"No way." Rrhys dismissed.
"It was before your time." Llewellyn told him. "A man revealed himself to us and faced Entity 303 and Null both. He stared the Clan down... and smiled." Llewellyn shivered. "That was the only man to face us without fear, the only time I... felt..." He shook his head as he trailed off. "But that's irrelevant. This may be his kingdom, but Carys is not Herobrine. She will die like any mortal before our power. There is no one who can contest us anymore. No one like Herobrine."
Llewellyn watched as the Griefers started breaking through the walls. Things were weakening. Soon the fight would be taken into the capital itself.
"This farce ends today. On my signal, we make a push to strike down these defenses. Time to reaffirm their faith in wrathful and terrible Gods."
Rrhys smiled. "That's what I like to hear."
[Lenz]
When we got there, the fighting was already in full swing. It was November 26th. Judging by the small airship I spied docked at Lunar Castle, Trish, Alfonso, and Cobbert were already here. I pointed it out to Baltic and Trenay.
"We got to get in there." Trenay directed our attention to the horde of Griefers crashing against Nitebane's walls, then to the ocean cliffs left empty. We would have to climb down the moat that emptied off the cliffs, but after that we would be able to climb up to the overhang Lunar Castle was sat upon. Ender pearling was also an option.
"(Shake a leg, nerdling. We need to hustle.)" Z7 spurred the engineers and me forward while the rest of the group jogged towards the northwest side of the moat. Right along the cliffs.
It was my first time in Nitebane and I had little time to enjoy the sights, but those tall skyscrapers that rose above all and blocked out the sun were awe-inspiring. All the stories claimed they were broken - pockmarked and detached from the ground. However, these skyscrapers looked whole. Jillian and the citizens of Nitebane clearly worked hard to build the place back up, and now that it was threatened, they were prepared to defend it.
The fourteen of us reached the moat and withdrew ender pearls, warping across with a few well-placed throws and making our way past a cemetery.
It was in the cemetery where we were held up at sword point. Five guards only as they had little to spare patrolling.
"Trespassers! Identify yourselves!" A guard shouted before Baltic and Trenay walked up. Recognition flashed across two or three of them and they lowered their weapons. "Baltic, sir! You're here! Were you called by Jil - Her Highness to serve as reinforcements?"
"In a manner of speaking." He answered evasively. "No time to talk. Or send reports." He stopped a Paragon guard from sending a message to Jillian. "We must get to Lunar Castle at once. Please, escort us there."
"Of course, sir. Follow us. We'll move as swift as the winged shoes of Mercury!"
"...What?" Ines asked dumbly.
"We'll Potion of Swiftness II you." He clarified somewhat flatly before splashing us all with the curved bottle. We took off down the empty streets, with great haste, passing the occasional patrol without incident thanks to our escorts. In no time at all, we reached the front gates of Lunar Castle.
That's when the rains hit.
"Here's the rain those Testificates predicted." One of the Paragon guards complained while shielding his head. Lightning crackled above, striking a skyscraper and booming thunder that shook the air. "Let's get you all inside."
We were ushered in and led past several bustling Crafters into an entrance hall. There, we were met by a handful of guards.
"I'll announce your presence at once." One guard or Paragon said before walking off. I had to remind myself that not everyone here was a Paragon. Many were Nitebane survivors that swelled the Paragons ranks despite being left unaware of the guild's inner workings. They were fighters to be used in Carys' war against the Endward Cult. Not to mention, I had to mind what I said. I was also wearing my Dragon Head to conceal my name and face given the supposed intelligence leak in the Paragons' ranks. Anyone walking around could be a spy.
"We heard King_Cobb was apprehended, and that a pair of bounty hunters delivered him and are here now." Trenay spoke up. "Where might we find them?"
"The bounty hunters have been confined to the Great Chamber per Her Highness' orders. As for the prisoner, he's-"
"BALTIC!" A feminine voice thundered, startling several guards into straightening up before a blond-haired woman strode into the entrance hall. It was Jillian. JillianLikeAVillian. Was she aware that was spelled wrong? "What a... pleasant surprise." She gritted out.
Jillian was a fair-skinned woman with long blonde hair done up in a thick braid that trailed down her side. She had light blue eyes and a black and purple beret atop her head. She wore a yellow bandanna tied around her neck along with a small brown and yellow jacket and a dark grey undershirt. She wore black jeans with chocolate-colored straps, and brown sneakers tinged with a bit of black. Her belt and backpack were the same chocolate shade of brown as the straps on her jeans, and from her belt hung, among other things, a bow and a single arrow. She also looked super pissed.
"You've caught me at a most inopportune moment." She glanced at the linked map at her belt with barely restrained frustration. "According to this you should be in Oak Docks."
"Well, I heard unsavory things over the maps and had to come in person to sort them out." Baltic countered coolly. He stood at the front and did not back down under Jillian's frosty gaze. The two were of equal rank in Carys' inner circle even if one of them was acting queen.
"Indeed? Trenay, you allowed this?" Jillian asked her Team Delta subordinate.
"I wholeheartedly endorsed this, ma'am." Trenay countered. Behind her, Heather, Luis, Perry, and Dwight folded their arms and looked disapproving.
Jillian took a look around her at the guards and Paragons watching the altercation. Her eyes then seemed to gravitate towards the engineers, then me before she gestured with one hand. "Perhaps we should take this somewhere more private." It was not a suggestion.
"Lead on." Baltic complied.
The fourteen of us followed her through the entrance hall and off to a side entrance. Instead of going up floors, however, we took a turn down a staircase, away from curious guards, and down to the dim dungeons. I thought maybe she would take us straight to Cobbert, but the stone basement held only empty cells and torture devices. It was soundproof and vacant, however, which suited Jillian perfectly as she rounded on Baltic as soon as the doors were closed.
"What's the meaning of this, Baltic!? Deceiving the maps like this! It's misinformation!" She shook the map angrily. "You ever play chess where the bishops don't go where you tell them to go? That's this! That's what I'm feeling!"
"You're to release Cobb immediately." Baltic ordered. "Do it now before we lose any more of his trust in us. Then you are going to apologize for whatever mistreatment you subjected him to, and we'll go from there."
Jillian let out a cold, high laugh. "Losing trust!? You want to talk about losing trust when you disobeyed a direct order? King_Cobb is not more important than taking down the Endward Cult!"
"Then why did Carys divert resources to make a bounty for him." I shot back, seeing my chance. Jillian turned to me, and I took off my Dragon Head now that I did not need to hide. She cocked her head as she considered me, a bitter smile curling her face.
"You want to do this, archer?" Z7 stepped between Jillian and me, the Jibberwoman's eyes facing forward in a clear demand to step back. "More insubordination?" The Queen looked around and took in the disgruntled faces of the men and women she called comrades. "You all seem to have been charmed by these Beginners. Allow me to muddy the pedestal you set them on. Cobb? He's the reason for all that bloodshed out there!"
A flash of panic crossed my face at Jillian's words. I warned Cobbert not telling the Paragons about the Hackers might come back to bite him, and now it looked to be that time. I tried to smother my reaction, but Jillian noticed and pounced.
"Didn't feel like telling them either, hm? Then you're just as guilty as your leader."
"What are you talking about?" Baltic asked.
"Cobb identified Carys to the Hack Clan. He told them she was the one responsible for Nitebane. He told them she killed Ocan and Urson so that they would kill her and spare him having to fight her. Tell me I'm wrong!" She directed the last at me and I glanced aside in shame.
"...Lenzington?" Baltic asked, his voice unsteady as he turned to me.
"...it is true." I admitted. This was Cobbert's doing, yet I had to be the one to own up to it while surrounded by the ones affected by it. "It happened in Akasha, when we encountered Sandra and Winslow. We were fleeing from Carys after Zeppil and... and Cobbert told them her name because we were enemies then. He did not share this after because... because he felt the knowledge did not matter. Hackers would have attacked Nitebane regardless."
"But they wouldn't have been looking for Carys." Trenay added, looking disappointed. "You left out that part, Lenz. To get us here and save Cobb?"
"...Yes."
"And the real reason Cobb didn't want to tell us was because he didn't want us to hate him."
"...Yes."
"...Is that why you forgave me so easily?" Baltic asked dejectedly. "For keeping those orders a secret. It was because you and Cobb had secrets too?"
"...Yes."
I felt a great swell of shame as I looked around at a room that turned against Cobbert, and, by extension, me. These were people who agreed to go to a battlefield and risk their lives to save the fisherman because they felt accountable, but compared to what Carys ordered, Cobbert was far more accountable for causing the threat Nitebane currently faced. Heather and Luis looked conflicted but most everyone else looked like had been deceived.
Jillian stood back and watched the realization hit with a bittersweet smile.
"So this is our alliance?" Baltic asked hollowly. "This is all it's worth? Both sides undermining each other, keeping secrets? Do we even want to stop the Endward Cult anymore?"
"Cobbert... Cobbert was opening up." I tried to defend his actions. "He knows he made a mistake, but he... he did know how to tell you! Telling you would not have changed anything!"
"It would have. Admitting his mistake would have built trust." Baltic mumbled, more disappointed than angry. "We would have been angry with him, but he would own that mistake and work to regain our trust. He just didn't want to look bad." Baltic ran a hand over his face, wondering why he traveled all this way for him. "I don't believe this. I don't believe him. He told me he'd face consequences when they came, but he was just dodging the confrontation. I thought we were getting somewhere..."
"Well, there it is." Jillian announced grimly. "Cobbert deserves where he's at and you came here for nothing. Now if you could just toss that nerd into one of these vacant cells," I flinched at the threat, backing up slightly, "we can reallocate you all to the front lines and repel this threat. Show those Hackers the strength of the Paragons."
Perry and Dwight looked to me with surly expressions, and I feared they would do just as Jillian ordered until Perry broke the silence.
"No. The nerd fights. Cobb too. Turn them both loose."
"Perry, pay attention. They're what caused this." Jillian groaned.
"Doesn't matter." Shroud dismissed. "He's a fighter and we need him. He doesn't get to sit this out. Not when he caused this mess."
"He doesn't deserve the chance. And he has nothing to offer. His items were all taken." Jillian added. "He'll die if we send him out."
"Then we'll keep him alive." Baltic said hollowly. "If only so he can live with his mistakes. He doesn't want to face the consequences of his actions, then we don't need to be allied with him. He doesn't care about us. We'll make him fight, then disband this sorry excuse for an alliance. I won't waste any more effort on him. I was kidding myself thinking this could work."
"No, no! This can work!" I pleaded. "Baltic, please, you know Cobbert! He is good! He has finally recovered who he used to be! He trusts and opens up! Do not throw away what we built! We can win together!"
"All we've built up is distrust." Baltic replied without energy. "Does Cobb even want this?"
"No, he doesn't." Jillian swept her arm across. "Cobb is selfish and out for his own interests, consequences be damned. He doesn't care about us! Why else would he doom Nitebane if not to wipe us off the map?" I heard thunder boom outside, the storm raging in time with the battle. "He refuses to take responsibility, masking what's happened to him as Carys' fault. That's why he's sitting in a cell, riddled with potion effects. Because it's what he deserves, and he refuses to own up to it!"
A tremendous explosion rattled the castle.
[Cobb]
I was left lying on my back since that's the way Jillian left me. I couldn't see anything, my eyes open and staring unfocused. My stomach twisted painfully and a few more Hearts were shaved off only to be replenished by the Regeneration and other recuperative effects Trish shot me up with. Jillian's words were bouncing around inside my head.
I hated Carys.
Heavy rain pelted my tower, followed by booming thunder. The sounds drowned out the explosions of the war. It was the thunderstorm Professor Fulgur predicted. That meant today was November 26th. The battle had gone on a full day.
I hated Carys so much. This wouldn't have happened if she didn't come after me in Zeppil. If she never scared me into telling the Hackers about her. If she never issued the bounty posters that got Trish interested. If she just watched her goddamn pig instead of leaving it in the middle of nowhere - who leaves their beloved pet alone if he was that important!? Aaaaagh!
I swear, if I get out of here, I'll get her back. I'll get her back if it's the last thing I do.
Blood: Yes. Yessss. Get her back! Get her back!
Heart: Yes. Get her back. Get her back.
I frowned deeply and scrunched my eyes shut. Two ways about it. Two ways. Which way would be more satisfying? It was a gamble. I was at a table, placing my bets, and had to decide whether to check or double down.
I heard the wooden doors creak open and feared it was Jillian back to elicit more hopelessness from me with her words. Instead, I caught half-a-dozen or more footsteps. It was difficult to tell the exact number.
"What's all this?" One of my guards asked. "Shift change isn't for a while still."
"Orders from higher up." A new voice said.
"Her Highness?"
"Higher than Her Highness."
"What queen is higher than our queen-?"
There was a sharp yelp of pain, a squawk of surprise, the twang of bows, and two death wails before total silence blanketed my prison cell.
"The Spider Queen." Someone I didn't recognize quipped, earning a chorus of chuckles from several male and female voices.
"Uhhh..." I uttered helplessly, still blind and unmoving in my cage. "I feel like I'm missing something here. Did my guards just die? Can anyone explain what's happening?"
My cell door swung open, and someone walked in to kneel beside me. "Sure. I'll give you the play-by-play." It was the melodious voice of Cherish_Smile. "Your guards just met their end at the hands of the Ten Eyes."
She allowed for a pause so I could soak in that revelation, but she must have seen how blank my expression was.
"The infamous spy guild? Famed in the west?" She waited expectantly but still no reaction. "Led by the Spider Queen? Come on, you must have heard of us."
"I'm like half a year old."
"It doesn't matter." She said, too quickly and too hurt to actually mean it. "We're a guild of spies, and our guild's leader, Mox, has an interest in you, King_Cobb. Enough of an interest to cut a deal with you."
"...What sort of deal?" I asked, dubiously. I figured I may as well play nice in case they decided to kill me like my guards.
"A mutually beneficial deal. One too good for you to refuse as you are right now." Cherish added, reaching down to gently sit me up and prop me against the wall.
"How'd you even get here without raising alarms?" I questioned. "There's no way the guards would let a group of spies in here."
"That would be because we moonlight as Paragons when we're not selling secrets to Mox." One of Cherish's spies boasted.
"Selling secrets?" I voiced aloud before I recalled the worries Carys had about intelligence leaks. My eyes roved the space before me as if I was looking at the spies, ignoring the painful twist of my stomach. "What do you mean?" I feigned ignorance.
"Nothing complicated." Cherish shrugged. "We just passed on information to the cult about Carys' lookouts. Then they blinded her radar so that the Griefer army could slip past and catch Nitebane off guard."
"...What's the relationship between Mox and the Endward Cult?" I winced past my groaning stomach. "And why would you arrange for such a thing if you're all Paragons?"
"Spies of the Ten Eyes before Paragons." One of the spies said simply. "Even after years without hearing from her, we're loyal to Mox."
"Mox was imprisoned in Ringwood, behind bars much like yours." Cherish took over, one hand shifting strands of my hair as she talked. "She was set free by 4Blite and swore loyalty to him as one of his Nine Plagues." I felt her lean close. "Makes you wonder who else might swear loyalty when turned loose."
That was one way of alluding to what she wanted. "You're offering to free me?"
"Think about it." She stood up, her footsteps pacing before me. "Jillian and her master, Carys. They put out the manhunt for you, plastered lies calling you an Executive. Made you an enemy of the world. They ordered you locked up, refused you milk to clear these heinous potion effects. They would see you suffer behind these bars for eternity, starving, hurting, your sanity slowly eroding away." She listed all the things I had been feeling and making a damn good argument. "You're clearly no friend of Carys', and no friend of Carys is a friend to Mox. She sees no reason we can't help each other."
My eyes moved to where Cherish's voice came from before they dropped to the ground in dismissal. "You can't get me out of here."
"Yes, we can."
"You can't. Even if you give me milk and get me out of this cell, what then? This castle is crawling with Paragons and guards. How many of you are there?"
"Eleven."
"Right. So, eleven guys and me against a castle of fighters..."
"A majority of the fighters are either on the front lines or patrolling the streets." Cherish assured. "The castle is down to a skeleton crew. And we can prolong a confrontation with the excuse we're escorting you to the dungeons on Jillian's orders. Of course, that means you need us to escape this place in one piece. You scratch our back, we scratch yours."
"Except you haven't said what I'd have to scratch you back for." I countered. "Nothing's free. What do you want me to do?"
"Nothing you wouldn't enjoy." I could hear Cherish smile. "Just come with us to kill Carys' mouthpiece, the Puppet Queen Jillian. We've heard of your skills. We can get you some gear. You should be enough to slay her, and just think of all the torment she subjected you to."
"Thanks for reminding me." I gritted, my anger for the woman showing. "I hate Carys more, though."
"Mox figured you might." Cherish laughed. "Jillian's death will destabilize things here, enabling the Hackers and Griefers to destabilize the rest. The Paragons will be the one debilitated, not you, and Carys will find her power base reduced to nothing. If that doesn't do it for you, we could arrange a worse fate for the Angel of Death. Follow us to meet with Mox. I'm sure we could come to an arrangement with the cult that'll topple Carys. We have little time to await your decision before the next guard shift. What do you say?"
"What do I say?" I spoke with a vicious smile. "That bitch has been hounding me over a goddamn pig ever since I spawned here. She made me a wanted man based off a lie. She's content to let me rot in here in never-ending agony. Hell yeah, I'm in! Get me out of this cage and I'll dish out some well-deserved payback is what I say! I swear it!"
"Then we've got a deal!" Cherish pulled something out and I found the metal rim of a bucket pressed to my lips. "Just remember, you need us to escape this castle. It would be to your detriment to take us out. Try anything funny, betray or kill any of us, and you won't escape Nitebane alive. We can always claim you killed these guards and turn on you. So long as you cooperate, we'll escort you out safely."
"I understand." I spoke past the bucket before she tipped it back and let the milk flow past my lips and down my throat.
In an instant, the darkness masking my sight cleared up and I felt all potion effects dispel from me. The milk got rid of all of Trish's effects. My skin didn't burn. My Health wasn't being siphoned away. I could move again! I scratched my nose like there was no tomorrow. Oh, that felt good!
However, there was still a danger since my Hunger Meter was empty, but now without any health effects to keep my Hearts up. I took a bit of damage before Cherish pressed a bowl of rabbit stew into my hands. I brought it to my lips greedily and gulped it down, feeling the warm chunks of meat and vegetables refill my Hunger Meter. I was given a loaf of bread next, then some apples, a steak! I dogged that food, making noises of enjoyment as I filled up my tank and restored my Hearts.
Cherish stood back as I ate like a garbage disposal. I finally got a look at her features. She had straight, shoulder-length, black hair. Sharp, golden eyes, a pretty, heart-shaped face, and a dainty nose. She wore a speckled black and white blouse, black slacks, a gold belt and backpack, and brown sneakers. She also wore iron armor. Behind her were her fellow spies. Ten of them, all with iron armor and weaponry. They were dressed as if expecting a fight.
"We need to move fast." Cherish advised as I breathed a sigh of contentment from a full stomach and Health Meter. "In and out. We kill Jillian and escape through the cliffs before the Hackers break through the defenses. We have armor and weapons for you." She snapped her fingers and one of the spies, JustBob, came forward with the gear. It was iron. "Take off that tunic and put these on."
"I got my own gear." I held up an arm in refusal. "I just need an ender chest..." One was immediately placed before me. "Excellent." I opened it up and found all the stuff I had smartly stashed prior to battling Trish on the bridge. I took it all out and equipped myself, ignoring the interested looks from the spies as I grabbed the tridents and totems out of my Pocket Box.
"Damn. You've been holding out." Another female spy, PastureEyes, whistled appreciatively. "Mox called you right after all."
"Alright. Stash that gear for now. It'll look strange if we're escorting an armed, armored prisoner." Cherish advised.
"One last thing." I reached into my Pocket Box and drew out a block of obsidian before placing it near the tower wall between the wooden doors and the bars of my cell. "If we're going to do this, I need to beef you all up. Even the odds a little."
"Beef us up?" Cherish asked with interest.
"What? You didn't think I became a Hacker Slayer without a couple of tricks up my sleeve, did you?" I smirked as I placed an End Crystal atop the obsidian. The rotating cubes spinning around the glowing purple object caught the interest of every spy.
"Whoa! What is that?"
"This is a _." I was unable to name it aloud because of Landon's censor. "I'm forbidden from speaking of it, but it's a great source of power."
"I've never seen anything like it." JustBob remarked with awe.
"How do we use it?"
"You see those red runes on the crystal's surface?" I pointed, taking a subtle step back as they gathered.
"Yeah."
"Look, but don't touch. If you look close enough, between the runes, you'll see a word unique to the one gazing at it. Speak that word."
They leaned closer as they scrutinized it while I took another step back.
"I don't see anything."
"It's faint. Infinitesimal. You can barely make it out." I quietly withdrew a snowball. "Really look at it."
The eleven of them got so close that the crystal's light reflected in their irises. They peered deeply at the runes, searching thoroughly.
"Oh! Oh! I think I see something!" PastureEyes exclaimed. "It says-"
I threw the snowball and watched it impact the volatile crystal and blow the eleven spies up along with the tower wall, the floor, and parts of my cell in a tremendous explosion that rattled the castle. Their gear and Heads flew everywhere, the deaths so instant none of them felt a thing. The lights got knocked out in the blast and the room became swathed in a darkness illuminated only by the flashes of lightning from outside. The rain and wind pelted inside from the gaping hole I had just made. Thunder echoed as it reverberated off the skyscrapers I could see in the distance.
"It says Mox can suck my balls." I coldly told their vacant Heads. "So can Carys."
I stepped past the fallen gear but let their EXP orbs flow into me as I got to the hole in the wall. The storm was bad, the rain pelting my face and the wind making my hoodie whip violently behind me. I drew up my hood and grabbed a sign one of the spies left, knowing I had precious little time to waste before Paragons came to investigate the explosion. I left a sign message besides the hole I made before withdrawing an ender pearl and chucking it towards the streets below. I warped out of that tower soon after and found myself jogging down Nitebane's streets.
All good lies have a kernel of truth. Right Jillian?
[Lenz]
Jillian burst through the wooden doors into Cobb's holding tower first followed by the rest of us. The room's dampness, the sound filtering in, the hole in the wall, over a dozen Crafter's worth of scattered Heads and gear, and the empty, blown open cell were the first things we noticed.
"What the hell...?" Jillian was lost for words as she peered into the empty cell, then to the Heads littered about, then to the gaping hole at the epicenter. "What the hell? H-How did he... what did he...?"
"Cobb's explosives." Trenay recognized immediately as she saw the out of place block of obsidian Cobbert placed the End Crystal upon. "Bastard blew himself out."
"Killed a lot of our guys too." Shroud nudged a Head with his foot. "You think he went off the deep end being locked up and tortured? He could've snapped."
"This... this is impossible!" Jillian exclaimed in outrage. "He was blind! He was paralyzed! I checked him! He could not cause this! He had nothing in his Inventory!"
"He had reserves in his ender chest." Heather pointed out the dark chest off to the side.
"He couldn't have gotten free without milk!" Jillian shouted. "Who gave it to him!? No Paragon of mine would be stupid enough to give him milk! If this was Trish-"
I saw Baltic go over to the hole in the wall and place down a torch to illuminate something in the dim light. A sign. I saw him read it before a gasp tore itself from his throat and he brought a hand up to his mouth.
"Oh, Cobb..." He uttered with remorse. "No..."
"What? What did you find?" Jillian marched over, as did the Paragons, to read the sign.
[Mox the Spider Queen. Spies from Ten Eyes. Solved your intelligence leak issue. Eleven of these dead guys did it.]
[It's time I clean up the mess I caused.]
"The Spider Queen? Here?" Jillian looked bemused as she took in the scattered Heads more closely. "Cherish and Bob and Pasture... spies?"
"You said it yourself." Trenay hitched up her backpack, her expression resolved. "No Paragon would be stupid enough to let Cobb out. Someone had to have given him milk. If they're spies, and they're the ones behind our intelligence leak, Cobb just did us a favor."
"You screened the recruits for cultists, not Ten Eyes spies." Heather remarked. "That's got to be it. That's how we missed them. They tried to let Cobb out hoping he'd turn against us." She smiled warmly. "He didn't."
"The mess he caused...? What does-?" Witige started only to reach the same conclusion Baltic had. "Oh no... he wouldn't!"
"He would." Baltic's expression was grim as he turned to a baffled Jillian. "He's going to the front."
[Cobb]
I checked my map and saw that Lenz's blip was on the Cadboro Bridge an ocean away. Baltic and Z7 were likely with him. "Guess I really am on my own here. Wonderful." I lamented my lack of backup but told myself I could manage with the right lie. Like Jillian said, I needed to make the lie believable enough for me to think so.
I exited the fishing store All About That Bass with a couple of fishing rods that I felt absolutely naked without as well as a boat. I was surprised Carys hadn't already made fishing stores outlawed in Nitebane. The streets were empty, everyone off fighting the Griefers, so I could rob with impunity. After that, I jogged downhill down the street, speeding things up occasionally with the use of an ender pearl.
Floyd and Soul told stories about this place. The capital's skyscrapers were supposed to be detached from the foundations and riddled with holes, but it looked like Nitebane had fixed them up. In fact, the streets looked immaculate, even if some construction projects looked ongoing. Jillian had breathed new life into these ruins. She gave a home to those survivors living a cursed life, day to day.
"This is Herobrine's pride and joy." I said to myself as I looked up at the towering buildings and the legacy that first Crafter wanted for himself. "He lamented losing all this to one poor mistake."
And I was about to save it. For Carys of all people. What a cosmic, poodle-anus backwards twist I found myself in. Whatever. Let it be said that King_Cobb never caused a mess he didn't clean up. I told Baltic I'd take responsibility no matter what. That's what I was doing.
Besides, Carys would be livid hearing I saved her ass in spite of everything. Spite spite spite! Truly my bread and butter.
I remembered what Floyd and Soul told me about their mission in Nitebane. The sewers they ventured down with Attila and Cara to fix the water flow to the Mob Grinders. The Grinders in the chasm where this whole war was being fought.
The capital was built on a slope. A descent that allowed water to flow to the chasm. I could use the boat I procured to sail down it like a shortcut to the action.
I found a manhole barred by an iron trapdoor, tried to pry it open, gave up, then blew the whole street open with another End Crystal before jumping down into the sewers.
Bladder: Hope we don't get billed for that.
I put down the boat into the filthy sewer water and hopped in before steering it downstream, my speed picking up as I went on uninterrupted. I was already soaked from the rain, so the water was no big deal. Thunder boomed above and I caught flashes of lightning illuminating the sewers through the small openings in the trapdoor manholes. I didn't have to take any turns to get to an opening from which water flowed out. I gripped the sides of the boat tightly as I shot out at breakneck speed and landed roughly in some haybales and cobwebs of all things at the bottom of a great chasm. It cushioned the fall well enough, so I didn't die, the hand clinging onto a totem placing it back in my belt, unused.
I clambered out of the boat and left it there as I caught the roars of combat coming from above. There was no rain pelting me as a great ceiling of stone shielded me from it and served as a bridge across the chasm. As I stared at it, I saw a few bodies fall off the sides and land near me where they exploded in a shower of gear.
"Gotta get up there."
I took out an ender pearl and heaved it towards the Griefer side of the chasm. It went just high enough to clear the chase's lip and warp me to the top. I looked out and saw hundreds of Griefers rushing past, screaming murder with weapons brandished as they charged the cobblestone bridges towards the city.
Time to go in-Cobb-nito.
Blood: Kill yourself.
Doing this I might!
I put on the iron armor I got off those spies and mixed it with my green leather tunic. Then I took up a gold sword as my weapon of choice. Boom. Mismatched gear wielding Griefer Cobb. Disguise set.
I walked out between some stone juts like all the other Griefers joining the battle and roared just like them while waving my sword around. The roars seemed to bolster confidence as it got more Griefers roaring and psyched them up for battle. They didn't notice I was moving the other way, however.
They did notice when I started shouting something more interesting.
"Message for the lords! Message for the lords from the most exalted Hack Clan! It's imperative they hear this!" I clamored in my most pathetic-sounding voice. It was the type of voice I envisioned a toady or bootlicker to possess. Oily and obsequious. It got the Griefers' attention, alright.
"A message for the lords?"
"The almighty Hack Clan sent you on a mission for them!? How enviable!"
"I never thought they would rely on us for something so important!"
"Yes, well, I am honored to deliver." I told them with a subservient bow. "I am but a humble messenger of the Gods. No more than a mouthpiece of their glorious will. Yadda yadda. Though I confess I don't know where the Hacker lords leading this attack might be. Have you seen them? Might you aid me in this God-given mission?"
"It would be our privilege to be of service to the Gods!" Several Griefers echoed as they stood with me and steered me towards the densest part of the army between two stone juts that looked to have been erased to the base. I steeled myself as they brought me close, my escorts speaking for me, declaring I had a message for the Hackers from the Hack Clan itself. Needless to say, I started shitting bricks when the crowd parted to reveal a clearing containing two lone Crafters with eyes like Floyd's. One had black hair, the other had green-yellow hair.
"What the hell is this about a messenger?"
You can do this, Cobb. You've been practicing your lies. Just sow those corn Cobb kernels of truth in there and make it work!
Brain: This is the stupidest idea I've ever conceived and I'm all for it.
I was forced to the front then distanced from the Griefers that had formed a circle around the two Hacker generals. They were giving the two a wide berth, knowing they could not stand the lowly Griefers' presence. Why did these guys even worship such assholes if they treated them like trash? I hid my disdain well and feigned fealty.
Liver and Heart: Time to win us an Oscar.
"Oh, great and powerful lords." I bowed reverently, my head touching the rain-slicked ground at their feet. "I bask in your Hackerliness, I, a humble servant, an expendable Griefer sent here to deliver a message of the utmost importance." I remembered the Hack Clan's boss' name from the story I heard in the Pit back in Akasha. Councilman Mitr told me it. "From the almighty, all-powerful Lord of Hackers, Entity 303 himself!"
Lightning flashed behind me impressively, the boom of thunder drowning out the collective gasp from the army of Griefers. Shit, was the whole army listening? They were! There was a lull in the combat. Griefers stopped rushing across the chasm to throw their bodies at the wall as they instead hung back to hear what message I brought.
The two Hackers - some Tony Hawk punk reject named Rrhys and a professional wrestler that could have given XoX's muscles a run for their money named Llewellyn - showed initial shock, then disbelief, then fury as dark smoke swirled around them both. Hacks were powered by strong feelings, and they had strong feelings about what I just said.
"LIAR!" Rrhys bellowed. "Our brother would never entrust a message to a lowly insect like you! You aim to deceive us!"
I thought fast as the skateboarder reject in the hoodie marched towards me with murder in his black-sclerae eyes.
"His lordship Entity 303 said I was expendable, and thus worth risking being sent out!" I pleaded, my words halting Rrhys. "He and Lord Null wanted to send out Lord Thed_Hearst to fly here," I started throwing out names and information a liar wouldn't have been able to know to gain their trust, "but His Lordship was firm! He did not wish to have another of his beloved brothers and sisters perish!"
"...Who perished?" Llewellyn's voice shook as he bought my lie. He had to. I had to be the real deal because how else would I know about Thed_Hearst's Flight Hack, or Null and Entity 303's names? It was all just my experiences, though. My own adventures all across Minecraftia. All of it wasn't for nothing, and now Llewellyn demanded to know more. His Hacker smoke flickered as he clutched at his beating heart, terrified for his family. I understood that pain intimately.
If these guys really were sent out because of me, before Sandra and Winslow's death were verified, then...
"Lady Sandradra and Lord Winslow_Downes. Both perished in Akasha." I revealed, the words eliciting an agonized reaction from the two Hackers. I saw their anguish and saw how it reflected my own when hearing of Floyd's passing, or of Jade's betrayal. "Additionally, Lord PoulsenPowderkeg," another name that brought another fresh wave of grief, "he fell on his way here."
"Those bastards. Those fucking bastards!" Rrhys screamed, smoke cloaking him and roiling off his body. The surrounding Griefers cowered at his wrath. "I'll kill them! I'll kill every last one of them in there!"
"Please, my lord!" I begged. "That is not the entirety of my message to you! His Lordship Entity 303 wishes you return home immediately!" I had to shout it again to get through to the guy. "Lord Rrhys! Your brother wants you both back home safe! He wants you to leave Nitebane immediately!"
"WHAT!?" Rrhys' rage lessened only to be directed at me as he grabbed me and hoisted me off my kneeling position by my hoodie. I winced as I started taking damage just be being close to him. His smoke felt like daggers raking my flesh. What Hack was he subconsciously using? "We just got here a day ago and he wants us to leave!? We came all this way to avenge our brothers! We're not leaving without Carys' Head!"
"Please, my lord. Please, understand." I pleaded, my fear at being nose to nose with an incensed Hacker no ruse. I didn't even know the full extent of his powers, but his proximity Hack would have been more worrisome if I hadn't already been taking damage over and over for the better part of five days.
"So make us understand." The other one, Llewellyn, stepped forward, demanding justification for being called back.
"I..."
It was then that I considered all that I knew about Entity 303 to decide what he would say in such a situation. I needed to convince these two to pack up and leave with reasoning only Entity 303 would use. He was the leader of the Hack Clan. The guy who called all Hackers his family. They guy who arranged for Hackers to be picked up from the Origin. The guy who went to war on Herobrine's warning because he was afraid of the artifacts being used on his brethren. The guy who enslaved an entire kingdom to build him and his brothers a home in the form of the Obelisk. The guy who cut a deal to have food delivered every month so that his family would not want for anything. The guy who was forcing Exter to search for his missing brothers and sisters under threat of annihilation. The same guy who decimated Akasha simply because Sandra and Winslow never came back. The guy who would do anything for his family.
A guy I could empathize with just be looking in a mirror.
I mustered up all my emotion as I thought of Floyd, Soul, Lenz, Noman, and Wynn. The ones I had yet to lose. Then Erin and Jade. The ones I lost. The tears I shed were real as I drew from that emotion I could only feel with my returned Heart.
"Lord Entity 303, he..." I sniffled, "he is terrified for you. Not just for you two, but for the whole Hack Clan." Rrhys released me, his Hacker smoke extinguishing and no lonbger harming me as he saw the raw emotion in my eyes. Llewellyn stepped forward as well, transfixed by my candor. "I saw it when he gave me this message. You all... you're his reason for living. You're his World. Every slain Hacker - Alec, Ocan, Urson, Sandra, Winslow, Poulsen - they're a piece of his World that's fallen away and he can never bring back. He's so torn up about who he's lost - of course he wants revenge! He wants to string every responsible Crafter up and watch them die! He wants to let them rot in a cell and starve to death, tortured by the evils they've done!" I shook my head to dispel the tears. "But... but not if it means losing anyone else. He doesn't want to lose you Rrhys, or you Llewellyn."
No longer did they care for me addressing them so casually. They were deep in thought, their Hacker smoke flickering out like extinguished flames as they understood the full weight of Entity 303's terror for their safety. It was a terror born of love. He loved them dearly. Too dearly to risk them for revenge.
The Griefers had gone silent as they listened to all this, the pelting rain and thunder being the only sounds on Nitebane's stony terrain.
"He knows you must feel angry. He does too. His fury was so great it razed Akasha to the ground after he learned of Sandra and Winslow. Nitebane will fall the same way in due time." I continued, wiping away the tears and trying to bring the whole thing home. "He's the strongest being in the universe, but he's also a frightened older brother trying to look out for his siblings. He can't take another loss. He can't." I looked the two in the eyes, and they looked back with, dare I say, respect? "But he wants you all safe. He wants you back at the Obelisk. And..." I hesitated, wondering if it would be a little too corny. "I know it might not mean much coming from a lowly Griefer like me, but... but I want you all together too. You Hackers... you're the ones we rally behind. You give us hope. We could never organize something like this." I gestured to the surrounding army who all nodded with varying levels of agreement. "We want you alive. We want you safe. That might not mean much, but it's the truth. Your lives matter to us too."
"We don't need your pity." Llewellyn stepped forward with a smoke-infused hand and shoved my face backwards. The strength with which he did it bowled me over back into the crowd of Griefers. I shook away the dizziness, feeling that he just used a Strength Hack on me. "But... thank you. For delivering the message." He inclined his head imperceptibly in my direction.
I suppose he was grateful enough. He could have used his Strength to punch me into next week, but instead he settled on a simple shove to save face as a God who turns his nose at lowly Griefers. I dusted myself off as he and Rrhys spoke to one another.
"What do you think, Rrhys?"
"There's no chance we'd die." Rrhys said confidently. "There's nothing to worry about." He shuffled in place. "...But I suppose we could do our big bro a favor by getting home early. Just to put his mind at ease."
"I thought you'd be more stubborn." Llewellyn smirked. "And pissed."
"Oh, I'm hella pissed. I wanted to see that bitch dead. But," he wrinkled his nose, "don't make me say it."
"C'mon. I won't tell anyone."
Rrhys sighed dramatically. "I love our brother more than I hate Carys, alright? There. I said it." He scowled. "She doesn't get to be more important than family. If Entity 303 really wants us back... then let's pack up and leave."
Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. I just fucking did it!
I told a lie so convincing that it was getting the Hackers to leave! They were the backing morale for this whole army, their heavy artillery, the big guns! Without them, the battle had no leg to stand on, just like with Halstatt. The Griefers would be bummed that things ended, but they could hardly argue with their Gods. They'd all have to pack up and leave knowing they couldn't win without their beloved Gods.
CARYS_ANGEL EAT YOUR HEART OUT! I just gave the best performance of all time! Hahahaha!
Heart: I'd like to thank the Academy for this Oscar! My friends and family back home, my acting teacher, my - holy fucking shit, oh no...
My gaze turned to the commotion coming from the west side of the Griefer army and I felt my heart seize up and drop into my pants along with the brick I just shat.
"We're doing the right thing." Llewellyn assured as he turned to the commotion. "By doing this, we... who's that coming in?"
Lightning flashed, illuminating the overcast sky as two beings swathed in smoke flew in and touched down gently in the circle of Griefers that were now expanding to accomodate. Their Hacker smoke shut off as a ginger-haired, well-endowed, female Hacker named Hannah_Harper, and none other than Thed_Hearst - the Hacker who crushed Soul and me at the Origin - stepped forward to speak.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-
"Brother! Sister!" Llewellyn greeted. "What are you doing here?"
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-
"We came to bring you home. 303 wants everyone brought back to the Obelisk immediately." Thed said. "You'll have to call off your siege."
"Er... we know. We were just about to."
"Good. Then we... wait, what do you mean you know?" Hannah asked.
"Well, we just got 303's message."
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-
"...What message?" Thed asked.
"The message! The one to come home because he's worried about us!" Rrhys exclaimed. "303's messenger just told us it."
Brain, Heart, Blood, Liver, Bladder, Stomach: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-
Lungs: *Hyperventilating noises*
"What messenger?" Thed asked dubiously.
"That guy over there." Rrhys pointed the damning finger my way and suddenly my deer-in-headlights awkward duck face was staring down four sets of eyes with black lines over them.
It was Thed's eyes that widened first. I caught the flash of recognition before his sclerae darkened and smoke covered his body.
Yeah, he remembered me.
"Um, wait-"
That was all I managed to utter as Thed had gone unnaturally still - the tell for his Blink Hack. He vanished from that spot the next second right before pain exploded in my lower back and I was sent front first into the ground, my legs flailing limply behind me and losing all feeling with a sickening crack that shook my bones. My mouth opened in a silent scream and I nearly blacked out then and there. My leather tunic did nothing to mitigate the damage. I was eating rocks as his Strength infused fist smashed into my back from above and snapped my spine like a twig, leaving a small crater with Thed and my paralyzed from the waist down body at the center. Tears streamed down my face from the initial pain that was now no longer there. My front felt sore, my back burned and throbbed where Thed's fist closed around my spine, but my legs, they... they didn't even hurt. Or move. I couldn't feel them.
I winced as Thed's other hand roughly pressed my face into the rocks. I saw his icy-blue eyes alight with malice and murder. I thought we were cool from last time since he let Soul and I go. We had an understanding because we both wanted what was best for Floyd. What made him so angry?
"You turned Floyd against us. You pitted blood against blood you fuck!" He accused. "The one sin that can never be undone! You had Floyd kill Sandra!"
I didn't order Floyd to do anything - Sandra and Winslow tried to kill us for a number of reasons - but I could see his reasoning. In his mind, I made two siblings fight. One killed the other. But how did he know Floyd was the one to do it? That fight hadn't been made public.
"Thed! What's wrong? What are you saying?" Hannah asked.
"He's the Darker Billionth!" Thed spat, the title sending a chill down half my spine as I remembered that's what the Endward Cult called me. "He killed Alec! He used Floyd against Sandra and Winslow! Whatever message he told you was some kind of trick! He's helping to protect Carys and her Nitebane!" Thed screamed as he leaned more forcefully into me, his knee pinning my back to the ground. "Carys! She killed Urson and Ocan and Poulsen! Cobb and Carys. The two of them - they're in this together! They started all of this! Every brother and sister we've lost is because of THEM! This is their doing!" His mounting voice grew in volume as the accusations flew, truer than he realized. His words had the other three Hackers narrow their eyes in hatred at me, their bodies cloaked in smoke.
Finally, as his voice grew and grew, I saw dark smoke coalesce to cloak Thed's throat, and when he next spoke, I mistook it for thunder for how it boomed. A caterwauling scream rent the air and made me cover my ears to block it out to no avail. The invasive words felt like they were whispered into my bones. The surrounding Griefers' hands flew to their ears to shut it out, hearing the exact same thing. Everyone could hear Thed's booming words that threatened to blow out eardrums. He never had that Hack before; He was a Level 5 back when we fought at the Origin. This was a sixth Hack, one he unlocked in the time between.
"CARYS! FLOYD! LIGHTER BILLIONTH!" He thundered. "I know you're all there, watching this!" He addressed the capital walls. "I've got your precious leader right where I want him! The three of you have five minutes to get out here before I kill this piece of shit and we attack! ALL OF US WILL ATTACK! Get out here NOW!"
Brain: Herobrine above! We were better off in the jail cell!
[Baltic]
"CARYS! FLOYD! LIGHTER BILLIONTH!" The furious voice boomed inside my head, and the heads of everyone with me. It was somehow projected to all of us, across the entire capital, most likely, by some Hacker. "I know you're all there, watching this! I've got your precious leader right where I want him! The three of you have five minutes to get out here before I kill this piece of shit and we attack! ALL OF US WILL ATTACK! Get out here NOW!"
"Uh, guys? None of those three people he screamed for are here." Dwight spoke nervously. They were all on the other side of Minecraftia, but the Hackers thought differently. "What do we do?"
We were all still in the castle, Jillian having steered us towards the Great Chamber to direct Trish and Alfonso to the front. However, when we entered, all we found was an empty room. Trish and Alfonso were gone.
"Ngh, they fled! I thought this might happen, even after what I swore to reward them with." Jillian cursed. "Those bounty hunters will regret breaking a deal with me. If they think they're skipping the bill, they have another thing coming."
"They have Cobbert!" Lenz panicked. "They are going to kill him! I - I am sorry, but I cannot stay here!" Lenz whipped out his bow. "I have to go down there! I have to go save him!" He took a step forward but for Z7 hugging him from behind and holding him back, her head shaking 'no'. "Ovg nv tl, Z7! R xzmmlg ovg Xlyyvig wrv! R szev gl wl hlnvgsrmt!" He cried out, desperately trying to extricate from the assassin's grasp.
"What was that fisherman even thinking running to the front like that?" Jillian demanded, both aggravated and confused. "He got in their way like a lamb running to slaughter. What was he even trying to accomplish?"
"Like the sign said, he was trying to clean up his mess." I spoke resolutely. "He's doing what we all said he wouldn't - he's facing the consequences."
"Reports are in from the front that... shit! Two more Hackers showed up! Our lookouts never reported this!" Jillian fretted.
"Yet Cobb went to face them all. Even after being paralyzed and tortured in a cell, he never held it against us. That's why he went out there. To try and stop this war." I said, my mind made up. "I'm done blaming him. I've seen enough. His actions tell me infinitely more about his character than anything he said, says, or will say. Cobb is one of us, and I'm going down there to help him. Who's with me?"
The Paragons echoed their support. His loyalty may have been in question, but after learning what he was willing to do for us - face a total of four Hackers alone - we no longer cared what he did or didn't do. He was our ally, and he was willing to die fighting to right his mistakes. I never should have doubted him.
"We'll be facing twice as many Hackers." Heather commented. "We need to get a message to Kal, find out who these two new Hackers are and what they're capable of."
"That can wait until we rescue Cobb. Guy only has four minutes!"
"Wait! WAIT!" Jillian shouted, her words making everyone go silent. She was still the ruler, here. "I'll admit that the fisherman is... more honorable and braver than I first gave him credit for, but honor and bravery is useless without a plan. We need a plan."
"No." Lenz breathed out. "Cobbert just needs that book!"
"What?" Shroud asked.
"The book! Trishmegistus' artifact. The Vivlio Zythopoiias." Dawning realization spread across the group. "We get him that, he can take on all the Hackers himself. I know it! We have got to get that book!"
"We do." Jillian agreed. "We do need that book. Maybe not for Cobb, but for someone else to use. Either way, we need to go find Trish, and lucky for us I know exactly where that coward would flee to."
"You go find her, then." Perry threw out. "Us Alpha fighters are heading for the front with Baltic. We have a fisherman to save!" Heather and Luis gave sounds of approval as they joined me.
"We can help at the front too." Ines offered, Belenzia and Arwen nodding. "We have dispensers and redstone, and your guys probably have hundreds of arrows. We can get on the walls and show you what siege defenses can really do!"
"The rest of us are after Trish. That means you're with us, archer." Jillian ordered of Lenz. "Z7, Shroud, Doyle, Trenay, Dwight, Witige. Let's go get them. They're likely at their airship docked by the west tower. Be ready for a fight. Let's move it!"
Lenz was hesitant to follow Jillian instead of to the front with me, but I told him I would look out for Cobb, and I meant it. Cobb may have told the Hackers about Carys and caused this, but he could've run and he didn't. Or he did run, but in the opposite direction his survival instincts were telling him. He ran towards the fight. Just like Carys.
I wasn't about to let him die all on his own. He was our ally. Every Paragon of our group thought the same.
Our group split up and I hurried our team along with some Splash Potions of Swiftness. We sped out the castle and towards the streets, our group of Perry, Heather, Luis, Arwen, Belenzia, Ines, and me. Meanwhile, inside the castle, Jillian, Lenz, Z7, Shroud, Doyle, Trenay, Dwight, and Witige hurried to the west tower to confront Trish for her artifact.
We both had difficult tasks. Either confront an artifact user or face down four Hackers.
Inventory (Cobb): 1 Iron Helmet, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Green], 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 12 Ender Pearls, 18 Obsidian, 2 Ender Chests, 64 Chorus Fruit, 62 Snowballs, 7 End Crystals, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Golden Sword [Sharpness IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Golden Sword [Sweeping Edge III, Sharpness IV], 1 Golden Sword [Looting II, Knockback II, Sharpness III], 1 Totem of Undying, 1 Totem of Undying, 1 Totem of Undying, 1 Totem of Undying, 1 Trident [Riptide III, Unbreaking III], 1 Trident [Loyalty II, Channeling], 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Green Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
Green Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 53 Eyes of Ender, 32 Blocks of Emerald, 8 Emeralds, 1 Lapis Lazuli, 64 Books, 2 Books, 1 Enchanting Table, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Mobs of the Nether}, 1 Book {Mobs of the Bounty Days}
[EXP: 42]
Inventory (Lenz): 1 Chainmail Helmet, 1 Dragon Head, 1 Chainmail Chestplate, 1 Chainmail Leggings, 1 Chainmail Boots, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Totem of Undying, 10 Ender Pearls, 1 Bucket, 1 Compass, 1 Bow, 1 Bow [Infinity], 1 Crossbow, 42 Arrows, 14 Firework Rockets {Flight Duration: 1, Small Ball x 7, Gray x 7}, 2 Firework Rockets {Flight Duration: 1, Large Ball x 7, Gray x 7}, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 62 Dark Oak Planks, 57 Chorus Fruit, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}, 1 Red Shulker Box {Pocket Box}, 1 Gray Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
Red Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 1 Shears, 1 Lever, 9 Redstone Torches, 8 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 18 Blocks of Redstone, 2 Hoppers, 3 Pistons, 2 Sticky Pistons, 1 Book {Airship Piloting 101}, 2 Fire Charges, 36 Charcoal, 4 Torches, 32 Pumpkin Seeds, 1 Book {Redstone Textbook}, 1 Book {Notebook}
Gray Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 56 Arrows of Poison {0:11}, 64 Arrows of Harming II, 60 Arrows of Harming II, 54 Arrows of Weakness {0:30}, 51 Arrows of Slowness {0:30}, 64 Arrows of Fire Resistance {1:00}, 64 Arrows of Healing II, 64 Arrows of Invisibility {1:00}, 64 Arrows of Leaping {1:00}, 64 Arrows of Slow Falling {0:30}, 64 Arrows of Night Vision {1:00}, 63 Arrows of Strength II {0:12}, 64 Arrows of Swiftness {1:00}, 63 Arrows of Swiftness II {0:11}, 64 Arrows of Water Breathing {1:00}
[EXP: 25]
Inventory (Baltic): 1 Iron Helmet [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Chestplate [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Boots [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Sword [Sharpness II, Unbreaking III], 1 Shield, 1 Bow, 1 Diamond Pickaxe [Silk Touch I, Mending I, Unbreaking II], 10 Arrows, 3 Brewing Stands, 1 Water Bucket, 28 Bones, 1 Ender Chest, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}, 20 Emeralds, 18 Cooked Chicken, 1 Lingering Potion of Slowness {1:00}, 1 Lingering Potion of Slowness {1:00}, 1 Lingering Potion of Healing II {0:05}, 1 Lingering Potion of Regeneration II {0:05}, 1 Blue Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
Blue Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 58 Glass Bottles, 64 Dragon's Breath, 61 Dragon's Breath, 39 Blaze Powder, 34 Nether Warts, 30 Soul Sand, 63 Phantom Membranes, 64 Blaze Rods, 20 Fermented Spider Eyes, 51 Carrots, 50 Melon Slices, 55 Rabbit's Feet, 49 Gold Ingots, 1 Gold Nugget, 52 Gunpowder, 54 Redstone Dust, 49 Glowstone Dust, 53 Ghast Tears, 53 Sugar
[EXP: 32]
Inventory (Z7): 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 32 Cobblestone, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 21 Charcoal, 14 Torches, 9 Oak Wood Planks, 1 Cake, 9 Baked Potatoes, 1 Bucket, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Potion of Swiftness II {1:30}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}, 1 Purple Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
[EXP: 47]
Inventory (Floyd): 1 Mob Head {Creeper}, 1 Iron Sword, 1 Diamond Helmet [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 1 Shears, 2 Iron Ingots, 14 Steak, 2 Sticks, 29 Coal, 20 Torches, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Diamond Boots [Projectile Protection IV], 16 Gunpowder, 16 Ender Pearls, 2 Ender Pearls, 1 Splash Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Bucket, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 44]
Inventory (Soul): 1 Diamond Axe [Sharpness V], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 62 Iron Ingots, 20 Flint, 12 Gold Ingots, 1 Shears, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Crafting Table, 1 Jukebox, 1 Music Disc {chirp}, 1 Bed, 1 Furnace, 1 Steak, 24 Torches, 34 White Wool, 61 Cobblestone, 32 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Armor Stand, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Exter Entry Pass}
[EXP: 41]
Cat-Face the Cat
Christopher Squawken the Parrot
Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Leather Boots {Bottes Zephyr} [Dyed White], 1 Iron Helmet, 1 Diamond Chestplate, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 60 Nether Warts, 20 Soul Sand, 3 Steak, 1 Flint and Steel, 1 Shears, 10 Cobwebs, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Water Bucket, 5 Buckets, 1 Bed, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Brewing Stand, 33 Glass Bottles, 4 Packed Ice, 1 Ender Chest, 16 Ender Pearls, 4 Ender Pearls, 3 Phantom Membranes, 61 Glowstone Dust, 29 Gunpowder, 18 Redstone Dust, 61 Blaze Powder, 62 Gold Nuggets, 61 Brown Mushrooms, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Exter Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {The Art of Peace}, 1 Enchanted Golden Apple
[EXP: 35]
Inventory (Kalmarin): 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Mob Head {Skeleton}, 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness III, Unbreaking I], 1 Map {Paragon Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}, 26 Cooked Chicken, 30 Apples, 1 Bow [Power I], 36 Arrows, 12 Ender Pearls, 1 Bed, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 40 Torches, 31 Sand, 12 Cobblestone, 21 Oak Wood Planks, 1 Water Bucket, 1 Lava Bucket, 1 Milk Bucket, 43 Coal, 1 Clock, 1 Compass, 1 Iron Pickaxe [Unbreaking I], 1 Wooden Pickaxe {Old Reliable} [Unbreaking III, Efficiency V], 1 Book {Meetup}
[EXP: 37]
AN: Cobb doubled down on fighting, so the Hackers doubled down on Hackers. I was torn between the title for this, between Double Down and Always Accountable. Figured the Double Down was better for Chapter 222.
The irony of all this being that the Hackers would've been told to leave immediately by Thed and Hannah (reiterating what Cobb just told them), and Nitebane would have been spared. Now they're so furious over seeing Cobb that they're hellbent on wrecking Nitebane looking for Carys, Floyd, and Noman - the Hacker killers - who aren't even there!
Cobb killing the Ten Eyes spies is just *chef's kiss* beautiful. You think for a moment he might actually kill Jillian and screw over Carys out of spite until he busts out the End Crystal and tells them to lean in close to look at it. Well done Cobb. He ain't going back on his alliance.
Cobb drew a lot of inspiration from himself when talking with those Hackers. He empathizes with 303, realizing he's as fiercely protective of his family as Cobb is. He also drew from all his prior knowledge and experience to deliver that wonderful performance... before Thed and Hannah spoiled the whole damn thing. Yikes.
I really hammered this Chapter out. You're getting it within one week of the previous one, which I'm sure some of you are happy about.
The die is cast and the match-ups made. You won't want to miss the next episode of My Craft Z!
FAV. FOLLOW. REVIEW. FORUM. DISCORD. CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFIN.